Week 14: Who will win the NFC East?

With Dallas' 45-28 loss to Chicago Monday night, the Eagles take over sole possession of first place in the NFC East. (AP)

The Eagles came one step closer to clinching their first NFC East title since 2010, and they didn’t even play.

By virtue of the Dallas Cowboys getting destroyed 45-28 on Monday night by the Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago, the Eagles took sole possession of first place in the division with just three weeks left in the regular season.

Dallas and the Eagles had entered this week with identical records, but the Eagles won their Sunday game against the Lions and moved to 8-5 while the Cowboys fell to 7-6.

The Eagles now control their own destiny. If they win out, starting with Sunday’s road game against the Vikings, they will finish 11-5. The best the Cowboys can finish is 10-6.

But, strangely, the Cowboys also control their destiny. If they win out, including their season finale at home against the Eagles at AT&T Stadium, and the Eagles go 2-1, Dallas would clinch their first division title since 2009.

After the Vikings, the Eagles have a home game against the Bears before finishing up Chip Kelly’s first season against the Cowboys, who beat the Eagles 17-3 at the Linc on Oct. 20.

After their home game against the Packers, the Cowboys head to FedEx Field in Landover, Md., for a divisional game against the Redskins before they finish against the Eagles.

If Dallas wins its next two games and the Eagles lose to Minnesota and Chicago, the Cowboys would clinch the division before the season finale. They would have a one-game lead over the Eagles and it wouldn’t matter if they lost the season finale because they’d have a better division record, which is the first tiebreaker.